On Thursday, after sleeping most of the afternoon from being exhausted from the bus ride back from Chile, I headed to Milión, which is a mansion that was converted into a bar/restaurant to meet Priya and some kids from Harvard. The Fall study abroad students are already here -- school is really creeping up on us! After drinks, we went for hot chocolate and churros, but the churros were not there, so we settled on medialunas. Still amazingly good and a great snack before heading back for bed.
Friday, we met with Shiv who was visiting Buenos Aires for the weekend. We went to Plaza Mayo and to see the Congress building. Then, we introduced Shiv to our favorite restaurant, Cumaná. After that, Pramod and I headed to La Plata for a meeting with Ricardo, one of our bosses. We thought this would be a short chat and that we would be back in BA in a jiffy. Little did we know, our boss and friends in La Plata had planned an asado (a.k.a. BBQ) in our honor that night. After our meeting, we watched Ricardo heat up the grill before chowing down on a delicious meal.
Our leisurely meal unfolded into a leisurely feast of ice cream and tea. By 1 am, we had cleared the dinner table. One of our friends, Sofía, studies music at college, so we all coaxed her into playing the guitar. We ended up having a jam fest with her and Cristian playing the guitar and the rest of us singing along (well, me croaking along).
Around 3 am, a couple of Cristian's friends joined us and we played pictionary and taboo in Spanish. That was quite a task for us. We fared well, but I needed máte to stay awake. By 6:45 am, we decided it was time to return to BA. We ended our night with the morning crowd heading back to the city. This is our second night without sleeping in 1 week...I think we have succeeded in living the Argentinian lifestyle.
Waking up around 3:30 pm, we met Shiv and walked around Recoleta market and then headed to the art museum. The museum of fine arts in Buenos Aires is free to all visitors. While Argentina is not well known for its art, it was a nice museum to explore. In the evening, after an empanada dinner, I met Priya and we started our own "pub crawl." It included a pirate bar, which made my night.
On Sunday, I met Priya and Laura (another Harvard student) at natural deli. I had a sandwich with spinach and pesto, two things I haven't had in months. After lunch, Laura and I browsed the market near Recoleta cemetery. The weather was beautiful and there were so many cool street performers around. Spring is in the air in Buenos Aires!
Later that evening, we met Daniela and her boyfriend, Agustin, for drinks. Daniela was one of my roommates in Mendoza at the conference and a volunteer at Lapis bank. We had such a great time and wonderful conversation. Meeting on a Sunday for drinks, while all of us had early mornings on Monday was so worth it. The emphasis on meeting people, even if not at the most convenient of times or days, is something I will really miss about Argentina. The simple love of life and openness towards others are wonderful parts of South American culture that I hope not to lose when I get back to the States.
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